White Armor
by SeungSeiRan
Summary: Even if she couldn't be a Queen, she could at least remain a White Knight. Hinata-centric, one-sided NaruHina, implied NaruSaku.


**I like to think of this as anti-NaruHina but pro-Hinata at the same time.**

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Naruto. Kishimoto-san does.**

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The first time Hinata had been struck by her father was when she'd turned ten. She recalled later that it had been a brutally sunny day with no shade from the clouds to offer her aching sweat-stained body respite from her punishment. She remembered the ten slate-black kunais scattered anywhere but even remotely close to the painted wooden target she'd been ordered to attack. Not to mention the fact that her younger sister Hanabi had just moved on to practicing on actual moving targets. As each piece of hand-wrought metal had flown to the ground, another trickle of salt-laced sweat streamed down her pale clammy forehead.

As the tenth kunai hit the earth with a solid thump, a rough flat palm hit its mark at the back of her head.

It was at this moment that Hinata knew that her father despised her. She was weak, Hanabi was strong. Hinata was a worthless coward whereas Hanabi was a coveted warrior. The elder heiress to the famed Hyuuga clan had withered to a dry mass of petals beneath the darkness of her sister's shadow. Her destiny would have to remain that of a pawn's on a chessboard; a weaker force battling larger and stronger forces only to be sacrificed by her own in order for them to accede in strength and power.

Time came and went, one day at a time. Fate delayed its sleight of hand to change her fortune, instead choosing to bestow her luck for others. She could only watch on in pained silence as class-mates took great leaps to dwarf her tiny steps, leaving her far behind in the loneliness that solitude brought. It wasn't fair that she was barely a bud whilst the others bloomed and blossomed to success before her very eyes. No one needed the unparalleled vision of the Byakugan to see that either. In her family, she was the sickly stalk amongst a sea of tall proud reeds. In the trio that comprised her, Kiba and Shino, she was the eternal useless creature that leeched off their strength in shame. To the world, Hinata Hyuuga was nothing and nobody.

But not to him.

"_C'mon, Hinata! You can do it!"_

"_You'd make a good wife, Hinata."_

"_Hinata! You're awesome!"_

She realized just how much she'd missed the sun when he'd stepped into her life. Like her, he too was an outcast from the elite. Unlike her, he'd never learnt to step down and accept that fact. Maybe that was what had drawn her to him like a flower to the sunlight. The simple reason that were the same and different all in one. For once, the pawn had a new reason to fight back and begin anew. With a deft stroke, she had finally been able to erase the stains on her past and cleansed herself to set off on a new journey of self-discovery.

On a crisp spring morning, the thought dawned upon her... she wasn't alone anymore. If physically, then at least not mentally. In her mind's eye, she'd still see him cheer her on from the sidelines as she fought her battles against monstrous foes as well as her hidden demons. In defeat, it would be his hand that wiped the blood from her face. In victory, it would be his blue eyes that lit up with pride and joy. Of course, she'd never told anyone about his worth to her. They'd see it all in good time. They'd see that the lowly pawns could rise and win the game if they tried hard enough.

So try she did. Try they both did. With greater heights came greater risks of falling but they both still persevered on their separate paths. Never did either of them think of trading today's hardships for yesterday's pain. Harshness was what had shaped both of them into what they wanted to be... stronger, wiser and better.

They both harbored a secret love. Her for him, his for another. Wait for me, she'd heard him tell _her_, wait a little while longer for me, Sakura-chan. The crack had appeared on that day, lengthening and deepening as her secret became apparent to all except him. Try as she might to make him listen to the sound of her song, he was already intoxicated by the melody he shared with the girl he'd had his eyes on since their childhood. It had been years since the tears had last fallen but no less painful than before. In every chessboard, a King needed his Queen to become one whole, complete with love that was true and mutual.

After one last cry, she bowed low and raised her white flag high above her head.

Never again, she shook her head. Never again...

Solitude reached out a long, slender hand and she took it without complaint. Perhaps she was fated to be alone and it was no use fighting destiny's plans for her. In the green and fresh wilderness, she rebuilt her broken heart by means of physical and mental exertion, losing herself in the duties bestowed on her as a protector of her village and a leader of her clan. She no longer had to gaze at the night sky to search for a wish... she had nothing else left to desire.

In time, her hair had grown longer and she was able to stand eye-to-eye with her father. After years of cursing the very flesh and blood which he had had no choice but to call his own, he finally nodded in his head in a gesture which signified the burying of a terrible resentment. Hinata was no longer a girl but a capable young woman ready to grab destiny by the reins.

When the Hyuuga clan can see, so can the rest of the world.

She embodied strength of the body, heart and mind, its luminous glow shining unmistakably as an example for a new generation to come. The scars from battles of many kinds marred her skin beneath pristine white armor, hidden as always from the prying eyes of many lest they cause the wounds to hemorrhage from the repressed pain. When spring came again, she looked up into another pale blue sky and wondered as to what she'd seen in that blue years ago as a child being introduced to the first sweet pangs of puppy love.

She remembered a smile as contagious as a laugh, a spirit that was untameable as the wind in full force and a heart that was pure as gold. With that, she refused to cry anymore.

She'd once been a pawn in a chessboard of other more power-hungry players. Now, she was a white knight who wasn't in need of a savior as she was before. Even she couldn't be his Queen, she'd settle for that to repay him for everything he'd done for her. For all the boisterous jokes, the genuine cheers, the gentle encouragement and the cheerful smiles he'd showered on her in the past, she'd take that and guide others like her old self to the light of the sun. There was no need to wallow in sorrow from the sting of rejection because she'd found the love within her to fly free and carry on with her life like he'd wanted her to do.

With that, the White Knight bid her King adieu and rode away to follow a dream that no longer lay out of reach...


End file.
